City were once firm favourites for the title but now trail rivals Manchester United by five points with four games remaining. Some of City's failings have been laid at Balotelli's door after a series of high-profile misdemeanours, while Tevez's infamous dispute with the club has also been blamed .
But Lescott told Sky Sports News: "I think it's a bit harsh to solely lay the blame on Mario.... and who's to say that if Carlos had stayed he wouldn't have got injured and been out for the rest of the season?"
Speaking of Balotelli, he added: "He's a young player and he's going to make mistakes, and we all did at that age. Hopefully he is learning from them and when he plays he is going to give 100%. Obviously he's disappointed what happened with Arsenal but I am sure he's learnt from that."
Balotelli was sent off at Arsenal 10 days ago during a defeat which appeared to cost City the title.
Since then they have responded with convincing wins over West Brom and Norwich with Tevez, restored to the side after his unauthorised absence in Argentina, scoring four goals.
Lescott said: "We're not dwelling on the past. We're just grateful now that he's back and playing for Man City and scoring goals."
Lescott also insisted that City are not bottlers and will carry on fighting until the end.
He added: "Our mental state is fine. We had a bit of a run of consistency in the last few weeks but in the last two games we have shown that we are a good team and our strength in depth is there. We have proven we are a good squad."
United host Everton on Sunday while City travel to Wolves, with the two Manchester clubs then meeting in a crunch derby at the Etihad Stadium on April 30, and Lescott added: "No disrespect to Everton and Wolves but we'd both like to think that we could win those games. So that means there is more emphasis on the derby."
Source: PA
Source: PA